Chapter 2206: Old Powers (1/2)
The Red Ocean Dwarf Galaxy was only 1.56 percent as big as the Milky Way. As a dwarf galaxy, it held a lot less stars and therefore much less territory for humanity to conquer.
That still consisted of billions of stars! Even if a large proportion of star systems contained nothing of worth, many remained that either provided ideal colonization opportunities or rich exotic deposits.
This meant that from the moment the beyonder gates between the galaxies opened up, the competition for territory had already begun!
The two biggest players in this struggle for territory and conquest had to be the two old elephants in the room.
The Greater United Terran Confederation and the New Rubarth Empire loomed as giants in human civilization.
They existed long before the Age of Mechs and had partially adopted the MTA and the CFA in the past.
Even when the Big Two rose up and stripped the Terrans and Rubarthans of some of their sovereignty, the first-rate superstates still loomed tall over human space.
One of the reasons why they were called superstates was because they faintly possessed the power to rival the Big Two.
No other first-rate state could match the Terrans and Rubarthans in that regard! The heritage, power and wealth possessed by these ancient former star empires could not be matched by any other human state!
Only two of them existed out of countless other states.
Fourth-rate states were the lowest of the low. To consider them states at all was an insult to the word. Formally, this definition was usually applied to tiny powers who clung to one or several star systems and for some reason hadn't been annexed yet by a bigger neighbor.
Third-rate states were the most numerous and generally the most boring kind of states. They usually exerted enough power to sustain a proper government and all of the necessary institutions.
Strictly speaking, third-rate states needed to colonize at least 50 star systems to be recognized as such. In addition, their gross domestic product, military power and other parameters had to be up to standard as well.
In fact, many third-rate states such as the Bright Republic and the Vesia Kingdom actually colonized many more star systems. It was just that many of them were actually underdeveloped such as Cloudy Curtain.
Second-rate states began to have a bigger sway in the galaxy. This was the point where the Big Two slightly took them seriously. The basic requirement to qualify as a second-rate state was to grasp at least 1,000 star systems and meet many other development requirements.
A second-rate state should absolutely be able to crush a score of third-rate states in terms of wealth and force!
The same applied to first-rate states in relation to the lower tiers. A first-rate state must easily be able to defeat numerous second-rate states with ease!
In general, first-rate states only emerged in the galactic center and sometimes the galactic heartland. The wealth and force requirements to meet this standard was virtually impossible to attain in the impoverished galactic rim!
Owning several star clusters was just the minimum requirement. It was much more important to turn them productive.
At this point, a distinct category of states existed which did not fit in with these categories.
There were certain states in the galactic rim which had managed to conquer several star clusters and ballooned in power.
Yet for all of their territory, their wealth and power paled in comparison to even the weakest first-rate state in the galactic heartland.
The difference could not be overcome.
Yet these humongous second-rate states were nevertheless overlords in the galactic rim.
Therefore, a new and rather informal term of second-rate superstate emerged in order to describe these rural bullies.
No matter what they were called, many powerful states in the old galaxy all cast their greedy eyes on the Red Ocean.
Just because they were established and successful in the Milky Way did not mean that their dominance in their respective corners remained that way!
Many other powerful states and nations had risen up in the long river of time, only to fall and be forgotten due to growing complacent.
The galaxy was an extremely competitive ocean. Only by continuing to strive for greater power would states be able to keep up with their rivals!
Now, a newer and smaller pond opened up. Though most of the Red Ocean was occupied by various indigenous alien powers, every human pretty much regarded it as unowned territory!
Filled with rich exotics that were rare or completely unavailable in the old galaxy, every state knew that occupying a space in the Red Ocean was crucial to their growth and continuity.
Incredibly powerful exotics such as phasewater could completely elevate the strength of a state!
If the Rubarthans eagerly harvested as much phasewater as possible while the Terrans lazily ignored the new wealth, the power balance in the old galaxy would soon shift towards the former!